During a 2022 interview with film critic Baradwaj Rangan, Dulquer Salmaan, in a rare moment of candour, admits that despite embracing so much success in his home ground, “a section of the people still won’t allow him to shake off the tag of being Mammootty’s son, for whatever reasons.” He implies that even the Telugu and Tamil audiences are kinder than his “own people." However, the actor is quick to admit that this “habit of letting that negativity affect him is bad and unhealthy.” “Maybe this urge to act in other languages is because this tag is less applicable there,” he reasons. Last week, when a “concerned” netizen decided to just edit this portion of the interview and tweet on social media, it didn’t go down well with a majority of the Malayalee population. Many were quick to label him as “ungrateful” and “immature,” more so considering the humongous popularity he has always enjoyed in Kerala. Their point was that his films always garnered a terrific initial, next only to Mohanlal and Mammootty in Kerala.

 

If one views this statement in the context of Dulquer’s unprecedented appeal in Kerala, it does seem odd. Is the young superstar getting too big for his boots? Unwilling to self-reflect or accept criticism? Is his pan-Indian popularity affecting his better sense of judgement? Or more importantly, is he so unaware of the fact that even if you are the biggest superstar in the country, you can’t dodge the naysayers? And he has a legendary reference book at home to combat such negativity. Three-time National Award winner Mammootty, for all his talent and stardom, has had to wade through relentless critics all through his career. They denigrated his comic timing, his stiffness in action/romance, loud metre, and they constantly pitted him against his rival Mohanlal. And Mammootty, while accepting the chinks in his armour, has never stopped recalibrating his craft, even at the age of 72. That’s why, even to this day, he continues to hold surprises as a performer, fine-tuning himself and experimenting, unafraid to fail. Today, when Mohanlal continues to remain in his comfort zone, resting on his past laurels, Mammootty refuses to slow down, determined to explore uncharted territory, almost making it a no-contest between the two.

In sharp contrast, Dulquer, in his 12th year in cinema, has had it easy by several counts. He had an easy entry, and the “struggle” was not quite there, unlike his father, who made it on his own. The “goodwill” of his father, at least initially, aided in putting together projects. Though the father and son have gone on record to claim that he has never really “recommended” him for anything, we aren’t naïve to the powers of nepotism in the industry. That is also the father’s strategy to ensure that every single accolade that comes his way is unfettered by the chains of nepotism.

Of course, to be thrown among a community of skeptical cinemagoers who would brutally dissect and filter your credentials for your nepo tag was never going to be easy. But three things worked in his favor. 1) He was loaded with charm 2) Was a good actor with a deep baritone 3) And looked nothing like his father. To cut a long story short, Dulquer, save for a few missteps, flourished gloriously and smoothly branched out into other industries. With DQ, the Nepo label quickly faded and occasionally reappeared when he did promotional interviews in other languages. Even there, it was at least during the initial phases. Later on, any reference to his father was never a furtive link to nepotism; it was more out of idle curiosity, never as a tool to discredit him.

Now, coming back to the interview, it goes without saying that Dulquer wasn’t lying about being targeted online. A bunch will be perennially and unfairly critical of the actor, and chances are that they might also be fans of other actors. You can’t ridicule Dulquer for not being unaffected by negativity. Nowhere is it written that actors should come with an immunity pin against their detractors? Each person channels the negativity differently; some use it to their advantage. It can have devastating impacts on your self-esteem, too. And Dulquer comes with the cushioning of privilege; his “protective” background perhaps renders him more vulnerable to such attacks.

What Dulquer can perhaps work on is how he tends to take everything far too personally. When Solo underperformed at the box office, DQ’s lengthy, emotional social media note was a massive overreaction. He sounded more broken than the filmmaker, and implied that this was someone’s agenda. When the truth is that it was a spectacular idea that botched in execution. It is important to note that after the bludgeoning of his magnum opus King of Kotha at the box office, he hasn’t signed a single Malayalam film. Industry insiders say that the actor isn’t yet over the failure of the film. Now, that for an actor spells bad news. Allowing failures to psyche yourself can be detrimental to the growth of any actor. If you are willing to take the success, then it is imperative to take the failures in the same vein. Whether you like it or not, you are out there in public as someone’s hero or role model, and such a defeating approach won’t put you in a good light. 

Though he sounds very sorted in interviews and is hailed for his humility, one gets the feeling that he lacks his father’s passion for cinema. Unlike Mammootty, who is ready to push the envelope even at this age, Dulquer has a more cautious approach to cinema. It is said that he took a long time to venture out of his comfort zone. Today, of course, he is experimenting more with other languages; perhaps, as he mentioned in the interview, he feels “less judged” there.

At this point in his career, what we want from Dulquer is to prioritise Malayalam cinema, which was always his foundation school. While it is heartening that he is much sought-after in other languages, nothing can come close to the advantages of playing on home ground, where he is getting so much love. Also, having a hard-to-please audience could be advantageous for your growth as an actor. Regarding the failures, you might have already been schooled at home that you are as good as your last Friday release.